Sonic Boom • Eurogamer.net

Sonic the Hedgehog turns 25 today

He's grown up so fast.

Sega mascot and Mario arch-frenemy Sonic the Hedgehog has turned 25 today.

Sonic Boom games shifted just 490,000 copies

The lowest major Sonic launch ever.

Sega's disappointing Sonic Boom games sold less than half a million copies worldwide, the company has confirmed.

Sega to offer 300 staff voluntary retirement as it focuses on smartphone and PC online games

UPDATE: "Limited" redundancies at Sega of Europe.

UPDATE: There will be "limited" redundancies at Sega of Europe, the company has told Eurogamer.

Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric review

Got them Sega blues.

There are few things more dispiriting than diminished expectations. That malaise that sets in when you realise there's not much point hoping and instead start bracing for the worst. It's a feeling Sonic fans have become all too familiar with over the last decade.

The reputation of Sega's one-time figurehead is now so tarnished by endless reinventions and poorly conceived new directions that it can be hard to recall just how vibrant, innovative and refreshing Sonic the Hedgehog was when it blazed onto the Megadrive back in 1991. Those first few games were good enough to stand toe to toe with Mario, and give Nintendo an accelerated run for its money.

Today, the idea of a new Sonic game even coming close to Mario Galaxy or New Super Mario Bros seems like something plucked from a madman's dream. In 2014, we come to Sonic games hoping, at best, that it will be OK. Pretty good. Not terrible. In our hearts, based on recent form, we know that's probably too high a bar to set. Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric is not OK. It's not pretty good. It is, sadly and perhaps inevitably, often terrible.

Far Cry 4 is series' biggest launch, Sonic Boom flops.

Grand Theft Auto 5 is now the best-selling game of all time in the UK.

Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric Wii U infinite height exploit lets you skip most of the game

Gotta go fast.

Players of Wii U game Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric have discovered an exploit that lets you skip much of the game.

Sonic Boom has a release date on 3DS and Wii U

UPDATE: UK date confirmed - like the sound of that?

UPDATE 14/8/14 12.05pm: Sega has now confirmed the official UK date for both Sonic Boom titles, which will arrive together on 21st November.

That means it'll be a slightly longer wait in the UK for Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal on 3DS, which launches first in North America on 11th November.

Meanwhile the Wii U game, Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric, arrives here just a few days after its 18th November US launch.

She's so outrageous and is totally in your face.

Sega has revealed the latest new character in the Sonic franchise with Sticks, the jungle badger, heading to Sonic Boom on Wii U and 3DS.

Sega lays off a "limited number" of employees in London

"This will not affect Sonic Boom development."

Sega has made a "limited number of redundancies" in its London-based office.

Sega announces Sonic Boom for 3DS and Wii U

UPDATE: The Japanese Sonic Team is working on something else.

UPDATE: 12.14am: Veteran Sonic game developer Takashi Iizuka confirmed to Polygon that Sonic Boom isn't coming to Japan and the Japanese Sonic Team will continue to make Sonic games in parallel to Big Red Button and Sanzaru's titles.

Iizuka declined to say whether the Japanese studio's title would appear on PS4 and Xbox One, as was rumoured earlier this week based on a fact sheet distributed at Nuremburg Toy Fair. Sega called the document "incorrect," but failed to say what it was brewing up.

ORIGINAL STORY: 8pm: Sega has revealed Sonic Boom, new game for 3DS and Wii U and a fresh franchise push for Sonic the Hedgehog in general.